Job attitudes and absenteeism: A study in the English speaking Caribbean

Betty Jane Punnett, Dion Greenidge and Jase Ramsey

Journal of World Business, 2007, vol. 42, issue 2, 214-227

Abstract: This paper examines the relationships of job attitudes (facets of job satisfaction and organizational commitment) and personality characteristics to absenteeism, in five manufacturing companies in Barbados, an English-speaking Caribbean country. The relationships examined are based on well-established theories from the developed world, especially the USA. In addition, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance were measured. The results show that an employee's levels of satisfaction with co-workers, activity, responsibility, and job security, as well as loyalty to the organization, are related to absenteeism. These results are similar to those found in past research in the developed world. The most important single predictor of absence was satisfaction with co-workers. Respondents were moderate on individualism, high on uncertainty avoidance, and low on power distance. The cultural scores are used to help interpret the results. The implications of the results are discussed in terms of expanding the reach of an established theory, and relative to decreasing absenteeism in Barbados.

Keywords: Job; satisfaction; Organizational; commitment; Personality; characteristics; Cultural; values; Absenteeism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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